Preface by Project Leader

When and how did humans become a special kind of ape?

Though it might sound counterintuitive to most people, genetically, the chimpanzee's closest kin is not the gorilla, but man. This finding is one of the most significant achievements of modern evolutionary anthropology. Using a term coined by Dr.Jared Diamond, a biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, man is no more than the third chimpanzee, together with the common chimpanzee and the Bonobo. We can no longer talk about being human beings without referring to the biological fact that we are a member of apes.

At the same time, however, it is self-evident that we humans clearly distinguish ourselves from other apes such as chimpanzees and gorillas. How, then, do we bridge the gap between the fact that the man is "a mere ape" and the fact that we are at the same time "a special ape" that has developed a sophisticated mind, language and society? When, why and how did humans become a special kind of ape? It is this problem that is the most thrilling theme in twenty-first century human research, and the theme of this COE project.

Fortunately, modern human sciences have recently made great advances in terms of both theory and methodology, creating the best research environment we have ever had. Genomics and evolutionary biology now provide us with the most basic theoretical frameworks and tools for analysis. Meanwhile, cognitive and linguistic sciences have transcended the traditional bounds of the humanities, employing the tools and methodologies of natural science while continuing to move forward. Interdisciplinary coalescence between all these fields gave rise to the new field of evolutionary cognitive science, or evolutionary psychology, which has been rapidly developing during the past decade, especially in Europe and the United States. The research goals of this COE project are also in line with this global trend.

This COE project, while being based in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, is carried out in cooperation with staff members from the Graduate School of Science, the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University Hospital, the University Museum and the Information Technology Center, and involves all of Tokyo University in the above research theme. It also aims at educating the next generation of human science researchers, imparting to them a global point of view and an ability to straddle the border between arts and sciences. Our researchers in each field, far from simply lending their names, truly strive to integrate their disciplines and to initiate a unified field of human science for the twenty-first century.